Around South Hadley: Board hears landfill expansion plans

Daily Hampshire Gazette
by Steve Hill  9/29/09

Board hears landfill expansion plans 

The permitting process for a vertical expansion of the town's landfill took a step forward last week when the Board of Health held a site assignment modification hearing.

Interstate Waste Services, with headquarters in Ramsey, N.J., is proposing an expansion on top of the existing landfill, using either an earthen berm or a mechanically stabilized earth berm to support the sides.
With the earth berm, the height of the expansion would be 14 feet and allow two years of additional dumping; the stabilized berm would be 18 feet in height and add 3.3 years of landfill use.

Daniel Murphy, project manager for Stantec, the engineering company hired by the Board of Health to review the company's application, stated in written testimony that a stabilized berm would be the first of its kind in the state and the health board should require additional financial assurance, maintenance and inspections of the berm if it is approved.

Several area residents, mostly from Chicopee, were allowed to address the board, Hart said. They were concerned about the traffic which would result from the proposed truck route, New Ludlow Road, part of which is in Chicopee.

The DEP has ruled the site suitable for a vertical expansion, Hart said, but the board has the last word on the issue.

Interstate is also seeking a 21-acre lateral expansion that could extend the life of the landfill by 13 years. Town Meeting approved a new contract with the company in June that would increase benefits to the town and add about $588,000 a year to its coffers if both expansions are approved.

Mosier renovations sought

As a 40-year-old school, Mosier Elementary School is in need of updating, and the School Building Committee is re-submitting an application to the state School Building Authority for financial assistance.
Superintendent of Schools Gus Sayer said the building is structurally sound but "in a building that age, all the systems are deteriorating.¿ It has to be brought up to date."

The building is of sufficient size if the four portable classrooms at the school that are nearing the end of their useful lives are replaced, he said.

The town has been invited to participate with the building authority in a feasibility study for replacing Plains School, and building committee members expect to meet with state officials in the near future.

Poll workers needed

Town officials are seeking to fill vacancies on several boards and replenish the ranks of election workers in town.

Poll workers supervise the election sites in each town precinct and verify the registration of voters on election day. The workers must be at least 18 years old and registered to vote, and will receive an hourly rate.

There is a particular need for registered Republicans to work the polls, said Town Clerk Carlene Hamlin, because a mix of party affiliations is desired and the majority of workers are now Democrats.

Interested residents should contact Hamlin at 538-5023 or by email to clerktreasurer@southhadley.org.

Boards wishing to fill vacancies include the newly-formed Agricultural Commission, Historical Commission and Planning Board. Three seats on the Agricultural Commission are open, one for the Historical Commission and an associate member's position is available on the Planning Board.

Residents interested in serving may send a letter of interest to the Select Board, 116 Main St., South Hadley, 01075, or email selectboard@southhadley.org.

"Landfill plans to get hearing"

Landfill plans to get hearing
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
By SANDRA E. CONSTANTINE
sconstantine@repub.com

SOUTH HADLEY - The Department of Public Works superintendent has agreed to invite town conservation commissioners to the next public hearing at 7 p.m. June 10 in Town Hall on proposed expansion at the municipal landfill.

Department of Public Works Superintendent James M. Reidy agreed to take that action at the request of Town Meeting member Robert L. Robertson during the first public hearing on the proposal. Robertson said as a town meeting member he would be more comfortable if he knew the position of the Conservation Commission on the proposed expansion. Interstate Waste Services Inc. of Carlisle, Pa., which runs the town-owned landfill, has proposed expanding the footprint of the 38-acre facility by about 21 acres into the adjoining Bynan Conservation Area.

Town Meeting members will be asked to vote on that project and other details of a proposed successor contract to run the landfill when they convene for a special town meeting on June 15.
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Town Meeting member Judith K. Ellenburg asked how much of the land proposed for the expansion consists of wetlands as well as where the wetlands are located.

Reidy replied that some are in the southeast portion of the land being eyed, adding that permitting the project through the Conservation Commission and the state Department of Environmental Protection will be "tough."

The land proposed for the expansion is to the northeast of the landfill and has lots of wetlands and endangered species, according to Reidy. He did note that wetlands laws allow for replication of wetlands.

Reidy conducted the session at the request of the Selectboard with a special emphasis on informing Town Meeting members. About 20 people attended Thursday's public hearing.

Increasing the landfill's footprint could extend the life span of the landfill by about 13 years. Interstate would also like to expand the existing landfill upwards in a project that would give the facility one to three more years of life. Plans call for expanding 10 to 15 feet upward.

The town's current contract with Interstate for dumping, which has been in place since December of 2003, allows for it to accept 156,000 tons of waste a year and is expected to expire Dec. 31, 2010, when the facility is projected to be full.

"Company looking to expand dump"

Company looking to expand dump
Sunday, May 17, 2009
By SANDRA E. CONSTANTINE
sconstantine@repub.com

SOUTH HADLEY - Interstate Waste Services Inc., which operates the 38-acre town landfill, wants to expand it by about 21 acres into the Byann Conservation Area.

This would increase its total area by slightly more than half.

This project and other details of a proposed successor contract to run the facility now under consideration will be the subject of a public meeting on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Town Hall and a second informational session at 7 p.m. on June 10, also in Town Hall.

Public Works Superintendent James M. Reidy said on Friday he will conduct the session at the request of the Select Board, with an emphasis on Town Meeting members.

They will vote on the contract when the Town Meeting reconvenes on June 15.

Action on the agreement was postponed because final details were being hammered out when the annual Town Meeting took place on May 9.

"It is an important decision for the town, that is for sure," said Reidy.

Reidy said the town can deal with some of the difficulties posed by the site by developing compensatory wetlands for the expansion, which could extend the lifespan of the landfill by 13 years.

Interstate also seeks to expand the landfill upward in a central area that would give it two more years of life.

Plans call for expanding it 10 to 15 feet upward.

The town's current contract with Interstate for dumping, which has been in place since December 2003, allows for it to accept 156,000 tons of waste a year. The contract is expected to expire on Dec. 31, 2010, when the facility is projected to be full.

Reidy, who has been negotiating the contract with Town Engineer Yem Lip, said the proposed agreement has "significant" increased benefits for the town.

The pact calls for allowing the town to increase the amount of waste it may dispose of at the landfill for free, from 4,000 tons to 8,000 tons a year. The town generates about 7,500 tons of trash a year.

The current agreement allows the town to receive 5 percent of revenues generated when tipping fees are less than $70 a ton, and 6 percent if they are $70 a ton or more.

The proposed agreement would raise the percentage given to the town to 10 percent of total tipping income, regardless of the per-ton rate.

The town now receives about $500,000 a year in tipping fees, a figure that could grow to about $870,000 should the proposed contract be approved, added Reidy.

The public works chief said that the Carlisle, Pa., company would like to expand the landfill's footprint on the northeastern side of the dump, involving some land in the Bynan Conservation Area.

Siting the expansion there will pose significant "permitting challenges" because of endangered species and wetlands, said Reidy.

Using that land, he said, will require the approval of the Conservation Commission, as well as the state Department of Environmental Protection and the state's Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.